Endimion Takayama: Complete [J-Drama] Water Boys

Title: ウォーターボーイズ

Title (romaji): Water Boys

Format: Renzoku

Genre: Sports, romance, comedy

Movie

Broadcast period: September 15, 2001

Synopsis

It's springtime in Japan and the Tadano High School swim team is barely keeping afloat. When a pretty new coach turns up with the nutty idea of creating a top synchronized swimming team of her own, she has just a few problems to overcome. First, she's teaching at an all-boys school; second, the 5 boys who have committed to the team are all hopelessly bad swimmers; third, she suddenly discovers she's 8 months pregnant and due for maternity leave.

Inspired by their darling coach's dream, the boys bumble through the spring and summer, preparing a routine for Tadano High's festival. They face great adversity: the derision of their fellow students, a swimming pool full of dead fish, the mounting pressures of college entrance exams, and worst of all, their own dismal record of constant failure. Their only encouragement comes from a gaggle of local drag queens and the crazy owner of an aquarium, whose idea of trainin them, is making them polish fish tanks round-the-clock.

When autumn finally rolls around, the boys have not only miraculously perfected a truly unique routine, they've won the respect and participation of a whole crew of new teammates. On the eve of the festival, the performance is threatened by one last catastrophe. Will the Waterboys hard work be wasted, or can they paddle their way to the success and recognition they've worked so hard to win?

Cast

Satoshi Tsumabuki – Suzuki

Hiroshi Tamaki - Sato

Akifumi Miura – Ohta

Koen Kondo – Kanazawa

Takatoshi Kaneko – Saotome

Aya Hirayama - Kiuchi, Shizuko

Kaori Manabe - Mrs. Sakuma

Takashi Kawamura – Ikeuchi

Hiroshi Matsunaga – Mochizuki

Yuya Nishikawa – Sakamoto

Katsuyuki Yamazaki - Yama-chan

Taiyo Sugiura – Taiyo

Kotaro Tanaka – Koutarou

Makoto Ishihara – Makoto

Naoshi Saito – Naoshi

Kei Tani - Principal of Tadano High School

Yu Tokui

Yosuke Ishii

Daisuke Honda

Season 1

Episodes: 11

Broadcast period: 2003-Jul-01 to 2003-Sep-09

Air time: Tuesday Nights 21:00

Broadcast network: Fuji TV

Theme song: Niji by Fukuyama Masaharu

Synopsis

Two years ago, five high-school boys brought fame to a small town in Japan. What was so unique was that they formed a "men's synchronized swimming club." Their involvement and struggles while learning synchronized swimming - known to be a sport for girls - brought much attention to their school and town.

Two years have passed since that summer, and the boys of Tadano High School are still in the club. The Fuji Television drama "Water Boys" shows how these young boys fight to learn synchronized swimming, fall in love, and enjoy friendship with one another.

Cast

Yamada Takayuki as Shindo Kankuro

Moriyama Mirai as Tatematsu Norio

Eita as Tanaka Masatoshi

Ishigaki Yuma as Takahara Go

Ishii Tomoya as Ishizuka Futoshi

Miyaji Mao as Onishi Asako

Kashii Yu as Hanamura Kyoko

Tani Kei as Principal Ozaki

Fuse Akira as Head Teacher Yamaoka

Sugimoto Tetta as Sugita (swimming club adviser)

Manabe Kaori as Sakuma Megumi (synchro club adviser)

Kikuchi Maiko as Onogawa Shizuka

Takahashi Hitomi as Shindo Miwako

Asano Kazuyuki as Shindo Kanichi

Ikari Yukiko as Shindo Hitomi

Emoto Akira as Mama (of a bar)

Tokui Yuu as Chi-mama

Yashima Norito as Isomura Kiyomasa

Tamaki Hiroshi as Sato Katsumasa

Takenaka Naoto as Mr. Isomura

Nishida Naomi as the newscaster (ep1)

Fujimura Chika as a synchro swimmer (ep2)

Hiraizumi Sei as Tatematsu Kensuke (ep5,9&11)

Yamamoto Michiko (山本道子) as Tatematsu Shoko (ep5,9&11)

Aibu Saki as Hayakawa Atsumi (ep7&11)

Kitamura Eiki as a lifeguard (ep8)

Yamada Meikyo as the mayor (ep8&10)

Watanabe Dai as Takahara's friend (ep11)

Synchro Participants

Katayama Reo as Kitajima Daichi

Tanaka Kei as Yasuda

Tsujimoto Yuki (辻本祐樹)

Jinfuku Kosho (陣副光祥)

Wakizaki Tomohito

Hiraizumi Yota (平泉陽太)

Kanehara Ryotaro (兼原良太郎)

Season 2

Episodes: 12

Broadcast period: 2004-Jul-06 to 2004-Sep-21

Broadcast network: Fuji TV

Air time: Tuesday 21:00

Theme song: Niji by Fukuyama Masaharu

Synopsis

Three years ago, the former all-girl Himeno High School opened its doors to male students, but remains a female-dominated institution with the majority of students being girls.

One day Eikichi Mizushima transfers from prestigious Aoba High School in Tokyo where he was a member of the swimming team. While his father is away in New York starting a new business, Eikichi has decided to come to Himeji and live with his grandfather Kamekichi.

Yosuke Yamamoto had always wanted to establish a boy's sports club in school. When he learns that Eikichi belonged to a swimming club, he springs into action.

The other boys in the school include Senichi Kawasaki nicknamed "Wolf Boy Sen", the good-looking Iwao Iwata who is the only boy the girls talk to, and Hideki Sano, the rich son of the President of a major supermarket, who is always surrounded by fans. Eikichi's arrival soon influences the boys in school and changes their way of thinking.

Eikichi is surrounded by unique characters at the school. Shiori Yazawa, a senior at Himeno High, together with her parents Akira and Kaoru, live in a rented portion of Kamekichi's house. Kayo Oba, the student body president, is feared by the boys. Kozue Kitagawa, a devilish girl, belongs to the school wind ensemble together with Shiori. The substitute teacher Hijiri Saotome is a former swimmer at Tadano High School. English teacher Natsuko Ohara strongly opposes "men's synchronized swimming." Classic literature teacher Haruka Koshino hates men. And then there's the coffee shop owner Kozo Kasuya, who has something fishy about him.

Cast

Ichihara Hayato as Mizushima Eikichi

Nakao Akiyoshi as Yamamoto Yosuke

Saito Keita as Kawasaki Senichi

Koike Teppei as Iwata Iwao

Kimura Ryo as Sano Hideki

Ishihara Satomi as Yazawa Shiori

Suzuki Emi as Kitagawa Kozue

Asami Reina as Oba Kayo

Asakura Erika (朝倉えりか) as Utae

Nakahodo Hitomi (仲程仁美) as Kitagawa Terue

Kaneko Takatoshi as Saotome Hijiri

Yamaguchi Sayaka as Ohara Natsuko

Kimura Midoriko as Kashiyama Reiko

Inoue Waka as Koshino Haruka

Yajima Kenichi as Mizushima Eitaro

Kaneda Akio as Sano Masaki

Achiwa Satomi as Yosuke's mother

Imafuku Masao as Mizushima Kamekichi

Morishita Aiko as Yazawa Kaoru

Kohinata Fumiyo as Yazawa Akira

Sano Shiro as Kasuya Kozo

Hara Sachie as Ashikawa Kiwako

Oshima Yoko

Otaka Hiroo

Tsunoda Takuya (角田拓也)

Tsunoda Kazuya (角田和也)

Synchro Participants

Abe Ryohei

Yamane Kazuma

Shinohara Takafumi (篠原孝文)

Sakata Tomoyasu (阪田智靖)

Uchida Yusuke (内田祐介)

Ideguchi Tetsuya (出口哲也)

Yokoya Goki (横谷豪紀)

Ichikawa Yoshiki (市川欣希)

Zen Ryo (善りょう)

Nagamachi Taro

Noborio Tsubasa (登尾翼)

Nagai Yuta (永井祐大)

Yagishita Yosuke (柳下洋輔)

Saito Makoto (斎藤誠)

Saito Tadasuke (佐藤ただすけ)

Fujinuma Yutaka (藤沼豊)

Yokogami Takuya (横上拓哉)

Watanabe Ko (渡辺航)

Kobayashi Daisuke (小林大祐)

Shibuya Kento (渋谷謙人)

Hashimoto Atsushi

Tanoue Naoki (田上尚樹)

Takahashi Ryosuke

Takiguchi Yukihiro

Hisano Hidetaka (久野秀隆)

Hisamitsu Kunihiko (久光邦彦)

Matsuzawa Takeshi (松澤傑)

Finale

Title: WATER BOYS 2005夏

Title (romaji): Water Boys 2005 Natsu

Also known as: Water Boys 2005 Summer / Water Boys Finale

Episodes: 2

Broadcast period: 2005-Aug-19 to 2005-Aug-20

Air time: 21:00

Synopsis

Tanaka Masatoshi is having troubles getting into medical school, something he blames on all the time he spent on synchro two years earlier. While on a research trip to a remote southern island of Japan, he is forced into coaching a newly formed three member boys synchro team. Tanaka has to come to terms with his past and begins questioning his future, while the three boy synchro team dream of life off of the island.

Cast

Eita as Tanaka Masatoshi

Koide Keisuke as Uehara Kensaku

Hiraoka Yuta as 名嘉尾悟

Emoto Tasuku as Koma Shunichiro

Konishi Manami as Uehara Kyoko

Sakai Ayana as Kakihara Rena

Takizawa Nonami as Buritani Michiru

Ukaji Takashi as Koma Toshimichi

Matsushige Yutaka as 名嘉尾大悟

Masuoka Toru as Uehara Kosaku

Watanabe Misako as Kakihara Haru